Neil Degrasse Tyson talk

On Monday night, Neil Degrasse Tyson gave a talk at the conference, called "Tales from the Twitterverse and other media excursions". It was a really good talk, very funny.

Neil Degrasse Tyson

And again

The best bits were some cartoons he had found and his take on memes, which I found out are those things you remember even if they aren't true, that's passed from person to person. He showed some of the memes around the internet. Here are some of my favorites.

So cute!

The new hulk.

You're a geek if you get it.

He also should some photos of awesome astro tattoos he had some across. Though not for me I think.

This had to hurt

Carl Sagan quote

from the Voyager satellite (minus Pluto

The only time I winced was when he was talking about Brian Cox, who I really don't like.
He also talked about politics relating to science. The only bit I really enjoyed (as I don't follow American Political minutia) was the following. I picked the right state apparently. (Sorry Caroline!)

Virginia is one of the best educated states!

Gaylord National Convention Centre

On Saturday I took the Megabus to Washington DC for the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 223rd National meeting. The meeting was huge with an estimated 3200 people (though I did hear 4000 at one point.) The conference was actually based at the Gaylord Nation Convention Centre (yes that's it's real name) in National Harbor which is a 15 min drive from the centre of Washington. The hotel is really nice, though super expensive. And when I got there, they still had all the christmas things up so it was very pretty.

Christmas tree

The hotel is set up in a U shape. In the middle part, there is an atrium with live trees, birds, some cafes, and a fountain, which 4 times an evening does a light, music and water display. Which was very pretty.

Fountain

Kids train

Little surprises when you walk around

One thing about the hotel is there is no chance of my getting drunk and making a fool of myself. Because a single glass of wine is $12! I have been volunteering to get my registration fees paid, which is actually fun. And I got food vouchers as well so it saved me a lot of money. Though Sunday was a long day. I was on the registration desk from 2 until 8pm without even a bathroom break. So I was exhausted. But it does leave me more money for future travel so a pretty good deal really.

New Year

The past week has been great. I have spent it mostly chilling out, working and going for runs. Basically being a hermit. Not everyones ideal week but it did me good.
New Years Eve was also relaxed. I skyped my parents around their midnight, though they didn't quite make it until midnight. Cissi came over and we made pizza. I used to do this a lot but with the whole gluten problem, I haven't had the chance. But recently I found a GF option. :-) And I taught Cissi how to properly load a pizza. She was much too conservative with the toppings! (Normally mine are much more loaded!)

New Years Eve pizza Feast

We also opened a bottle of wine we brought ages ago and have been calling the Naked Man wine. It was very nice. And a few glasses of a hot spiced apple wine I brought from near Penn State in June. And I got to use my really cool (and geeky) pizza cutter I got for my birthday last year.

Enterprise pizza cutter

Naked Man wine

We watched Despicable Me 2 and wrote bucket lists, which sounds morbid, but it was really fun thinking about all the fun things we wanted to do. And for me, all the things I am going to get to tick off that list this year.

I was in bed and asleep before midnight. :-) Happy 2014!

Christmas in Blacksburg

Christmas week has been pretty chilled out. On Christmas Eve, I watched movies and relaxed. In the evening I went to the carol service at Cissi's church. I am not religious but it was really pretty and I do like christmas carols. The service was quite high tech with videos playing and it was nice to get out. The church was also warm which was a great bonus. I am so used to being in English churches which are usually so cold. And as it was below 0 C outside, it was a very good thing.

On Christmas day I woke up really early so I could Skype home and open my presents with my parents over Skype. They had been very restrained and keep their presents until I called at about noon their time which was 7am for me. I had some really nice presents. Lots of clothes! Thank you to every one who sent cards and gifts. I really appreciate it. It made the day a lot more cheerful knowing people were thinking about me.  :-)

My lovely presents! Thank you to everyone!

For lunch I went with a friend to the Inn at VT for Christmas brunch. I have been there for evening meals and they were lovely. Unfortunately it was a normal brunch with breakfast things. There was a carving station with some very nice beef but not really the normal foods I associate Christmas dinner with! But it was still nice and meant I didn't have to cook for myself. And the real reason I was there was the chocolate fountain!

Chocolate fountain

Plate 1!

 I spent the afternoon on my own, skyping family and friends, drinking wine, and watching movies. It was a pretty boring Christmas and didn't really feel like Christmas Day. Frankly it sucked. But I am going to have a mini Christmas when I go home in February (flights are booked!) so it's not so bad. I really get two Christmases this way! :-)

Boxing day, I started my New Years resolutions. A bit early, I know but why not? So it started with a trip to the gym and a run (despite the mild hangover). Then a pamper session, followed by really boring paperwork (the end of the year is always full of renewals) and work. But I am going to buy my camera soon! I got the money from the insurance company which will cover most of it. I am going to get the same one that was stolen but I am still really excited. :-)

And today the rest of my chocolate arrived! So tonight, along with the lobster tails and Pouilly Fume I have treated myself to, is going to be a very good night.

More English chocolate! Yum!

I hope everyone reading this had a brilliant Christmas, relaxing and fun. And has a fantastic New Year and 2014. It's going to be a good year. For me full of traveling, papers, friends, and adventure. I hope your is too! xxx

Heritage trail

On saturday, I went for a walk with a friend up Brush Mountian (in the Appalachians) on part of the Heritage trail. We had lunch first in Blacksburg and a look around the markets. And I finally got to Bollo's for their GF bakery stuff. They didn't have any bread but I did get a piece of cake (which was lovely) and a muffin (which has horrible)! After getting to the trail, and then going back to Blacksburg on the hunt for my lost hat and a minor car crash while I was in the restaurant for said hat, we actually got to the trail.

I was a bit concerned when I saw the trail post as it was classed as "most difficult" and I am not exactly a huge walking fan when it comes to difficult trails. (I am naturally quite lazy!) But it wasn't very hard.

Cute little barn near the start of the trail

Trail sign

It would be nice to walk in the summer as it was a bit desolate. But it was great to be out of the office for a change. And the weather was pretty warm. I was really over dressed!

Some green

But mostly gray - view at the top

We also got past by some hard core health nuts, one lady running up and down with her dog, and a guy on a  mountain bike. Got to respect them even when I think they are a little nuts. Each to their own.

At the top they had some rock markers to indicate the summit I guess. Though we also found some further down the trail.

Summit marker

This morning was odd. I woke up early and every thing was orange! (None of the photos are edited in any way.) The light outside was really weird. It only lasted a short time but it was very pretty. Then the wind started. It was quite impressive but has been raining since.

Orange sky 

Strange orange light